The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Super Shock Football
Being a giant, beloved video game blog has its downsides. For example, we sometimes neglect to give independent developers our coverage love (or loverage, if you will) as we get caught up in AAA, AAAA or the rare quintuple-A titles. To remedy that, we're giving indies the chance to create their own loverage and sell you, the fans, on their studios and products. This week we talk with Adam Meyer of Steamroller Studios to learn how his passion for art lead him to the digital gridiron of Super Shock Football.
How did you and your company get started?
Steamroller Studios came about in February last year when we started working on our first game, Super Shock Football. I'd been wanting to get into game development for a while, having had a taste of it while doing the cover for the BioShock L.E. and the Section 8 logo. But my skills mostly end with art and I don't have the coding knowledge to make a game myself. Then one day my buddy, who's a technical director over at WETA Digital, called me with his idea to make an electric football game for the iPhone, I jumped at the opportunity to work with him on it. So the company really started out with just the two of us but we're starting to bring some really talented people in. We have a great animator named Jalil that also works at WETA and he just came on board for our new game. Plus we have some talented freelancers. [Programmer Keith Lackey]'s cousin helps out with the sound and he worked on Dead Space and BioShock 2. We're very fortunate to have some very gifted people helping us out.
Why did you want to make games?
I've always loved playing video games. But I think that goes for every developer, you just don't do this for a living unless you love playing them. I remember as far back as playing Atari with my dad. But growing up an aspiring artist I was always more interested in film and comic books because they had more visual "flair." I loved all those old games but they were so limited by technology they really weren't a place for artists to thrive. I've seen the industry grow by leaps and bounds since then. Now it's reached a point where the only limit is the imagination. That's exciting stuff for an artist.
Why be independent rather than try to work for someone else?
I started my own design business five years ago and I honestly don't think I could have a "real" job ever again. I'm actually doing this interview wearing giant Homer slippers with matching Simpsons pajama pants, I kid you not. How many people can say that about their workplace? There's just something very special about working for yourself. It can be harder, but it's always more satisfying than doing anything for The Man.
What's your game called, and what's it about?
Our first game, which was published by Chillingo and came out in August of last year, is called Super Shock Football. It's our re-envisioing of the classic electric football simulator. For those unfamiliar with the original, you basically have a bunch of little players vibrating randomly around the field, which was all they had back in the day before video games. While we tried to stay true to the spirit of the original we made some gameplay choices that hopefully make it a much more entertaining experience. We also made an HD version that came out at launch for the iPad. I love the iPhone version but this style of game was made for the iPad.
Do you feel like you're making the game you always wanted to play?
We only work on games that we're excited about. We're not creating games to meet some sort of financial goal for some stockholders. We're creating games we're passionate about that we hope players will be passionate about as well.
How long did it take you to create Super Shock?
We wanted to make it in 3 months and I think it took us almost 7 months to finish the first version and have been updating it since we launched. We just kept making the game bigger, and kept adding new ideas. Plus there was a learning curve for us. Keith is use to working on big budget movies with no limitations, and I wasn't use to working on something where the art is so tiny. So while I was trying to figure out how to make the best use of the limited screen real estate, Keith was trying to figure out how to make the iPhone handle 22 physics-based players running around a 3D field. We learned a lot during those months and thankfully our process is much more streamlined now.
What one thing would you tell someone to convince them to get your game?
It's a fun game that anyone can play and we're still updating it. It also has a very fun split-screen mode that you can play with a friend at a restaurant. Plus it's only 99 cents right now! So support the little guys and for the love of God please don't pirate it. I got a kid to feed!
What game are you working on next?
We have a few things lining up for us right now and have been getting some attention from a few big publishers about future titles. We're also really excited about our next game which is called Dead-Wood. It's kind of a fun Tim Burton type of world where the people in the world are all carved out of wood. And, as you may have guessed, the zombies that end up attacking are made of dead wood. There are a lot of zombie games out there but we promise that ours will be unlike anything you've played before.
Any plans to develop for any other platforms?
As of now we are still making iPad and iPhone our primary platforms, but are looking to branch out with our future games like Dead-Wood. We think that title will be a perfect fit on XBLA, WiiWare, Droid, PC, etc. Pretty much any marketplace that we can sell the game digitally we are interested in.
If you'd like to try Super Shock Football for yourself, you can find it on iTunes right here. If you'd like to have your own shot at converting our readers into fans, email justin aat joystiq dawt com, subject line "The Joystiq Indie Pitch." Still haven't had enough? Check out the Pitch archives.
